Woo Ha There go my Head Gaskets

The Big D

Registered User
I was on my way home from a show in detroit this past weekend and i was a stupid ***, i kinda just floored it without having a concern for the car because some ugly B in a dodge stratus gave me the finger for not letting her silly *** pass me on the interstate, so after she passed me i floored it, got it up to 120, still couldnt pass her, then finally after a few more seconds the needle was past 120 and i was way past her, just when i noticed smoke coming out the floor vents, so i slowed it down a lot only to then have the upper radiator hose split a line from one clamp to the other...i thought that was my only problem cause i had this happen once in my old car, so i just pulled over and got a ride to a auto part store from some nice guy and picked up the part and replaced it...i refilled it with gallon anti freeze and gallon water and started driving again...a few minutes on the road i was happy to see it running smooth until the temp gage was in the red and it started smokign again... so i pulled over and waited for AAA to tow my broken car to a garage nearby

Bottom line... they gave me an estimate of 1467.88 to replace the head gaskets...does this sound like a rip, or just right, shoul i get it towed back to NY to have it repaired by someone else? i figured that they might be overcharging cause they were the only garage nearby and i was kinda stuck with no other choices...
 
$1,100 to $1,400 is about the going rate for the job. That plus figure another tow bill to get your car to another garage.

Good Luck,

Bob
 
The tow np i got a friend with AAA Plus i can use for the 100 free miles and its 141 miles according to mapquest...if i could find someone to do it for 1100 though damn id take that so fast...


Another thing, anyone know about how fast i could have been going, i can tell you that the rps were just about to redline where i then think the car shut off gas and i dropped down in speed, like i topped out and couldnt go any faster, kinda felt like when you top out in gran turismo....
 
I think the limiter on auto's is set at 125 or so. Feel free to correct me, but I think I read that somewhere.
 
Actually the earlier model SC's are limited to 135 and the 94-95's are 125. 1400 for HG's is about right. Then again, if you have any mechanical skills, it'd run you close to 300 to do it (cost me around 300 including new tools)
 
I thought that it was the autos were limited at 125 and the manuals at 137. And the reason for the difference in driveshaft lengths. THe auto's had a longer driveshaft and therfore a lower top speed due to warping at high speeds.
 
The 5-spds don't have a speed limiter, just a 6250 rpm rev limiter.
But, yes the driveshafts make a difference, the M5R2 %-spd trans is a bit longer than the AOD making a shorter driveshaft. The thing I don't understand is the lower limiter on the 94-95s which have more power.
 
I stand corrected. I think the reason might be just what you stated. They have more power. If they start warping at a certain RPM with a certain amount of power, it would seem that they would start warping at a lower RPM with more power.
 
hmm... that sucks man, does this place in detroit seem like they know what they are doing? or did they just look in a book. couse if they screw it up, you'd be out alot of money. if someone screwed it up here in ny you can go back and say "hey you screwed it up" instead of going back to detriot. when my HG's went i went to terryville car care in port jeff, it cost me almost 1400 though, including a tune up w/ new plugs and wires but overall they did a great job and now if i NEED a mechanic to fix my car, thats were i go. talk to scott he is a very nice and very honest person. let me know if you would like the number/directions or what ever. good luck with what ever you do.

-chris
 
I didn't even think of that, whenever I think driveshafts I never take power into account, just speed. Makes sense though.
 
Oh sorry i ment to mention that it broke down in pennsylvania, about 30 miles west of New Jersey...I have no clue as to wether they know what they are doing or not, Ive only talked to them on the phone and met with the guy once, he had called in a guy from one of the chains other mechanic shops since he couldnt do it and the guy he was calling in could...the garage/company is called shliers if anyones heard of em...

Im just waiting for my dads mechanic "friend" who i dont care for too much to give me an estimate, cause at least if i have his friend do it i dont have to pay at once and i can make like 200 a month payments cause he knows if i dont pay he can go straight to my dad


Happyhour ill see if i can find terryvill car cares # tomorow and give them a call to see what my options are...i have to give the mechanic in PA my decision tomorrow before 5pm...or else hes gonna start charging me for having the car sit there...bleh...also i still gotta find someone with AAA Plus or some cheaper way to get the car from PA to here...cause its like $3 per mile, which is gonna cost me more then i can really afford forcing me to have it done by those guys

mn12sc35th I have mechanical skills but i dont have the confidence in them enough to work on my car for something of that magnitude, its interesting to know that it would only cost around 300 though if i did do it myself

just to throw tis in too if any of you here on Long Island have a friend who is a mechanic and has AAA plus to help me get the car back here and wants that crappy HG replacement job let me know too
 
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Hey Man

Hey Man,
If you do it yourself you could get more for your money by having the heads ported. You should take this opportunity since the heads will be off anyway.
Laterz,
D Rainer
 
hey whats up

well i want to say im glad to see another JUGGALO up in this biatch. well i just wanted to say that scyalater is right u will save way more if u do it ur self there is not much to it. but i know how u feel cause this just happened to me like 4 months ago.

Jesus Ugalde (Juggalo 4 life):D
 
I can understand that, I guess when mine blew I didn't have the money to pay a mechanic that and my dad kept telling me I could do it so I did. But damn I was worried about screwing up, it's been almost a year now and nothing so I guess I couldn't have screwed up that bad. Hope it works out for you.

Yeah the gasket set is only around 140$ the bolts run another 40 so you're looking at 200 PLus whatever it costs to have the heads resurfaced (I had to buy some new tools to tackle the head bolts, I found out real quick that a 3/8 rachet won't do it). I lucked out on the ehads as mine were in good shape (I didn't drive in but a few miles ater they blew) so I just had to clean them up and put them back.
 
Not going to do it myself

I probably would do it myself, but I just dont have the time to do it, and i dont think I have the patience either...Also I think I would be more likely to try if I didnt have my father to tell me not to, and another car to drive temporarily.

mn12sc35th When you fixed yours how long did it take you to get it back together?


MCL to 1991tbirdsc :cool:
U takin the SC to the gathering?
 
get someone with experience with sc's to do it

had my 90 back in the shop 2 times after ford supposedly did mine.they didnt know what they were doing so they didnt hook my temp sensor up so it overheated and blew again.i am paying 1400 for mine right now and i know that it is gettin done right a few more bucks with some security is better than saving 300 and b9ringing it right back to the guy.
 
I talked to the mechanic today who is going to be working on my car, he told me that he has done it before and then asked me again if i still wanted it done there, he said it might be quicker to get it fixed if i brought it back to NY cause he was backed up on work, but i dont have the time to do it, and my dad gave me more shizznittle today about getting it towed back, he just said im having it done there cause its the easiest and that i really didnt have a choice, gosh its so much easier to make a decision when your dad does it for you... so all i can do is hope this guy does a OK job now

edit: thanks rglenn for reminding me of that, i just called him back to tell him to change the thermostat cause thats something that wasnt working right in my car
 
when mine blew i put a new engine in it.cost me about 2200.00.
i didn't want to chance it because it had 174,000 on it.
joe
 
i was thinking the same thing but the engine i have was rebuilt in 97 by ford for some reason, i have the receipt but no explanation
 
The truth is that spending $1400 on this car would be money that is wasted. Paying someone that much money to dig out and replace the old gaskets is a waste of time unless you are planning on doing some motor work. If the coolant has already contaminated your oiling system you would be smart to replace all of the rod and main bearings.

The best financial decision that you can make is to do the repair yourself, or sell the car to a "backyard mechanic" that can do the job for less than $100.

If you do do it yourself remember that the head bolts are "stretch to yield" meaning that once torqued down they cannot be reused. Also, make sure you follow the complex head bolt torquing requirements.

Good Luck!
 
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